Chapter One Hundred and Forty Two

"What the hell are you talking about?" Charlie exploded.

"I've got not choice," Robertson said smoothly. "Joey, if you can follow me into the interview room..."

"No!" Charlie yelled. "No! You can't do this! Joey didn't do anything!"

She hurried towards her girlfriend, who immediately clung on.

"Charlie, control yourself," Robertson said. "I know you're upset but if Joey didn't want to be charged with murder, she shouldn't have killed someone, should she?"

"She didn't!" Charlie screamed.

Joey closed her eyes, unable to bear the pain her girlfriend was in.

"Charlie..." she said gently, fighting tears.

"She didn't do anything!" Charlie said again, although her voice sounded weaker.

Robertson led the way into the interview room.

"I'm coming in," Charlie said.

Robertson whirled round to face her.

"No, you're not," he said firmly.

Charlie watched helplessly as Joey was led into the room. Robertson shut the door. Charlie just stared, feeling like her heart was going to explode. Desperate tears rolled down her cheeks. Angelo stepped up behind her, touching her arm.

"Charlie," he said gently. "Charlie, why don't you come and sit down?"

He held her more firmly. She broke away in anger.

"Don't fucking touch me!" she snapped.

Unasked, Watson picked up the phone and called Morag, feeling like she had completely let Charlie and Joey down.


Morag hung up from the police station and told Ross that she had to go back to Summer Bay immediately.

"What's happened?" her husband asked worriedly. "Are the girls alright?"

Morag sighed and shook her head.

"Joey's been arrested for murder," she explained unhappily.

"Let me come with you," Ross requested.

"No, Ross," Morag said. "It'll be too stressful for you. It..."

"Please?"

She sighed and nodded. They both began to pack.


"Well, I'd better head home," Ruby said, finishing her drink.

She and Xavier had spent most of the evening hanging out at the Surf Club. It had been nice. It had almost felt like old times. They'd talked, they'd laughed, they'd kissed, they'd played pool. It had been a lot of fun. But something just didn't feel right for either of them.

"Are you sure?" Xavier asked. "It's only nine o'clock. We could still hang out a bit longer."

"I've got homework," Ruby said.

It was mostly true. There was nothing urgent due but she was tired and Xavier's company had moved from being easy to tiring a little while ago now.

"Oh, okay," Xavier said, obviously disappointed.

They walked out of the Surf Club together. They kissed and went their separate ways. Xavier paused mid-step and turned to watch his girlfriend depart. Anger took over when he saw her get talking to Geoff.


Charlie finally stopped pacing her office and sank into her a chair. Her tummy was in knots and she felt like she was going to throw up at any moment. How could her precious Joey be being charged with murder? It wasn't fair. She hadn't done anything wrong. The only reason she was being accused was because she loved Charlie. Squeezing her eyes shut, the Senior Constable tried not to cry. She looked up, a little startled when Watson knocked cautiously on the door.

"I brought you a cup of tea," the Constable said.

"Thanks," Charlie replied.

Watson inched into the room and set the drink down in front of her boss. She shoved her hands in her pockets.

"And I uh... I called Morag. She's on her way. I figured Joey's going to need her lawyer on her side," she said.

"Thank you, Watson," Charlie said earnestly. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."


Joey and Robertson sat on either side of the desk, both feeling frustrated.

"What more can I tell you?" Joey asked. "I didn't do anything wrong so I can't confess to anything."

"What do you know about a tazer?" Robertson asked.

Joey furrowed her brow in confusion, although that horrible night with Charlie and Grant flashed through her mind.

"What tazer?"

"Grant Bledcoe was tortured a short while before he died. Are you telling me you don't know anything about that?"

"Of course I don't know anything about that," Joey said hotly. "Where the hell would I get a tazer from?"

"It was police issue."

"So?"

"So, you're girlfriend's a cop."

Joey leant forward in her chair, clasping her hands together and looking oddly confident.

"I can assure you, Detective Robertson, the only items that Charlie brings home from work with her are her handcuffs."


"I wasn't expecting to run into you tonight," Geoff said, falling into step beside Ruby. "What have you been up to?"

"Just hanging out with Xavier," Ruby told him.

"Oh," he replied quietly.

They walked in silence.

"How about you?" Ruby asked. "Been up to anything exciting?"

"Not especially," her friend laughed. "Aden and I had a weight lifting competition. But apart from that, life hasn't been quite the same since you moved out."

Ruby looked sadly at him. She felt torn over her living situation. Part of her really missed living with Geoff. He was so lovely and existing under the same roof was a wonderful excuse to spend as much time with him as she liked. But then she knew she had to make an effort with Charlie. The longer she had lived away, the more she'd known her guardian was hurting. Living together again was healing their fractured relationship and that wasn't something she could dismiss, not even for a boy she liked so much – and especially for a boy who wasn't hers.


Angelo anxiously appeared in Charlie's office. He was hurt by the way she had pushed him away before but he was determined to be there for her if she needed someone. He couldn't help but hope that Joey would be charged with Grant's murder. With her in jail, surely Charlie would have no option but to break up with her and turn to him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Charlie sighed heavily by way of answer and then apologised for being rude to him earlier in the evening.

"It's okay," he said. "You were stressed."

Charlie nodded.

"I can't believe they're actually charging her," Angelo said, sitting down. "Do you think she did it?"

"Of course she didn't!" Charlie snapped angrily.

"Sorry!" he said, holding his hands up in defence.

Charlie closed her eyes.

"Sorry," she sighed. "I just... how could anyone think she could kill someone? Even Grant? She can't even squash bugs! A spider comes trundling into the room, I scream my head off and beg her to kill it and she picks it up, talks to it and takes it outside. She's that gentle. She's that beautiful. How could she be sitting in there being accused of stabbing a man to death?"

Charlie rubbed her temples, still trying not to cry.